While the number of flights between France and Algeria has increased significantly, Algerian nationals complain about the high cost of plane tickets. Indeed, the prices charged by airlines serving Algeria are exorbitant, especially compared to those charged for Tunisian and Moroccan destinations.
Price comparison of flights France – Algeria, France – Tunisia, and France – Morocco
Thus, Air France, the only company which serves the three countries, charges prices with a difference which can vary greatly between these three destinations. To buy a Paris – Tunis ticket, go at the beginning of September, and return in mid-September, you have to pay around 270 euros or an average of 135 euros per crossing. To travel to Morocco, is much cheaper: tickets are around 85 euros, and a return trip to Paris – Rabat – during the same period of the year – costs only 170 euros.
A similar trip to Algeria would cost up to 6 times as much. It is indeed necessary to count no less than 600 euros for a return trip to France – Algeria at Air France, the majority of the flights being situated above the bar of 700 euros for a one-way ticket. This unexplained discrepancy between the prices of tickets to these three neighboring countries, whose airports are located at almost equivalent distances from Paris, raises several questions. The Algerian diaspora continues to alert the authorities and denounce this policy which punishes Algerians wanting to return to the country.
Why are flights to Algeria so much more expensive?
It must be said that for the destination Algeria, the airlines do not find themselves in a situation of competition. The demand for airline tickets is so great that even at exorbitant prices, travelers are buying them. This situation of virtual monopoly by the two companies Air France and Air Algeria allows them to align their prices, unlike what is happening in Tunisia and Morocco, where competition is in full swing.
On the other hand, the Tunisian and Moroccan governments have long implemented a strategy that allows foreigners to visit their countries by purchasing tickets at very low prices. A policy that aims to promote tourism, while Algeria does not invest in this area. For Morocco and Tunisia, private companies play the role of the market regulator by offering very attractive prices, which push the French company Air France to align itself to keep a market share.
